Valparaiso (3-0, 0-0-0 Horizon)
Crusaders invade the Big Apple for the Terrier Invitational
Friday, Sept. 4 - 2 p.m. CT – Brooklyn, N.Y. – vs. Rider (2-2, 0-0 MAAC)
5 p.m. CT – Brooklyn, N.Y. – vs. NJIT (0-3, 0-0 Atlantic Sun)
Saturday, Sept. 5 - noon CT - Brooklyn, N.Y. - at St. Francis Brooklyn (0-4, 0-0 NEC)
This Week in Crusader Volleyball: After capturing the Chattanooga Classic last weekend, the Valparaiso University volleyball team will attempt to make it back-to-back tournament titles, as the Crusaders look to take Brooklyn this weekend, heading to New York City to take part in the Terrier Invitational. Valpo will face Rider and NJIT on Friday before closing the tournament against host St. Francis Brooklyn on Saturday.
Previously: Valpo earned a trio of wins to open the season, bringing home the title from the Chattanooga Classic on opening weekend. The Crusaders twice had to rally from one set down to claim their season opener against host Chattanooga on Friday night, but then eased to a pair of sweeps over Eastern Kentucky and Troy on Saturday. Sophomore Taylor Graboski earned Tournament MVP honors, and was joined by juniors Emily Campbell and Morganne Longoria on the All-Tournament Team.
Following the Crusaders: All three matches this weekend will have live stats available through ValpoAthletics.com, while Saturday's contest against the Terriers will have a live video broadcast as well. Over the course of the 2015 season, all 15 home matches and most league road matches will be broadcast live on ESPN3.com, while WVUR, Valpo’s student radio station, will also be broadcasting select matches.
Head Coach Carin Avery: In her 14th season as head coach at Valparaiso, Carin Avery has won 315 matches and has led Valpo to three league regular season and tournament titles, as well as three NCAA Tournament appearances. A two-time league Coach of the Year, Avery has coached 40 All-League recipients over her tenure as Crusader head coach. She is Valpo’s all-time leader in both victories and winning percentage, and owns 370 career victories overall as a head coach.
Series Notes: Valpo has never faced either Rider or NJIT on the volleyball. The Crusaders and Terriers have met on one previous occasion, as the two squads matched up on Sept. 1, 2007 at the Western N.Y. Invitational. Valpo came out with a 3-0 sweep in that meeting.
Crusaders Picked Third in Preseason Poll: The Crusaders have been picked to finish in third place in the Horizon League in the 2015 season. Valpo totaled 50 points in the voting to finish in third place in the poll, just behind second choice Milwaukee, which finished with 53 points and one first-place vote. Oakland, which captured the league title last season, was a unanimous choice atop the league, with eight first-place votes and 64 points.
Looking Back at 2014: Last season saw the Crusaders propel themselves out of the gate to start the season with the best start in program history, as Valpo opened the season with a 14-1 record en route to 25 victories. Valpo won three in-season tournament titles and earned 13 straight wins to match the second-longest winning streak in program history. Along the way, head coach Carin Avery won her 300th game as Valpo head coach. The Crusaders boasted the Horizon League co-Player of the Year and an Honorable Mention All-Region honoree in Emily Campbell - the program's first Player of the Year since 2008 - and also earned two other All-League and a pair of All-Freshman Team selections.
New York State of Mind: This weekend marks the third time in the last nine seasons that Avery has taken her Crusader squad to New York for an early-season tournament. 2007 saw Valpo compete at the Western N.Y. Invitational, where the Crusaders won at Buffalo before capturing a pair of neutral-site wins at Niagara. In 2013, the Crusaders returned to Buffalo, going 1-2 at the Blue & White Classic. Valpo has never played in a tournament in New York City, however.
Another Tournament Title: With the victory last weekend at the Chattanooga Classic, the Crusaders continued a tradition of picking up hardware early in the season. The in-season tournament title was Valpo’s 20th such triumph in the 14-year tenure of head coach Carin Avery. Dating back to last season, the Crusaders have now captured four consecutive in-season tournament crowns. Valpo has now brought home at least one in-season championship in 11 of the last 14 years as well.
Graboski Earns the MVP: Sophomore Taylor Graboski was one of seven Crusaders last season who earned at least one All-Tournament Team accolade, but for the first time in her career, she was named Tournament MVP last weekend. Graboski posted the Crusaders' best hitting percentage of the weekend, swinging at a .344 clip while averaging 2.64 kills/set in the three Valpo wins. Joining Graboski on the All-Tournament Team were juniors Emily Campbell (3.90 kills/set, .284, 3.80 digs/set) and Morganne Longoria (4.55 digs/set).
Playing Time Spread Around: Head coach Carin Avery likes to use the early-season tournaments as a way to experiment with different lineups and different players on the court, and that was certainly the case in the opening weekend of play. 12 of Valpo's 14 players saw action at Chattanooga, with 10 of those players appearing in multiple matches. All four Valpo freshmen - three true freshmen, plus redshirt Kayla Currier - were among the 12 players who took the court last weekend, with Currier producing 2.30 kills/set on .333 hitting and a team-best nine blocks over the three wins.
In Search of 20 More Wins: The Valpo volleyball program finds itself among a prestigious group of programs nationwide, as last year’s 25-win campaign was the 13th straight season the Crusaders captured at least 20 victories. Only 10 Division I volleyball programs have won at least 20 matches in each of the last 13 years, a group which includes Colorado State, Florida, Hawai'i, Nebraska, Ohio, Penn State, Stanford, UNI and Western Kentucky.
